Practical guidance, at your pace
The Polish death certificate and copies
Registering a death, requesting copies and using a certificate abroad.
We can call you back.
Leave your number for a conversation about how we can help.
The farewell hall
The akt zgonu is the civil record of a death. An odpis is an official copy of that record, issued by the civil registry office, Urząd Stanu Cywilnego or USC.
Register the death at the appropriate USC
For a death in Poland, contact the USC responsible for the place where it occurred. A family member or authorised representative can report it.
The usual deadline is three days from issue of the death card. If the death resulted from an infectious disease, official guidance gives a deadline of 24 hours from death.
- Bring the karta zgonu, the death card.
- Bring the deceased person's identity card, if available.
- Bring your identification, such as a passport.
- Check the authority required if someone is acting for you.
Tell the office if a document is unavailable. Registration normally includes one free short-form copy.
Order the copies you actually need
Ask each bank, insurer, benefit office or other recipient which version it accepts and whether it retains the document. Do not assume every organisation needs its own paper original.
Further copies can be requested through the official service, at a USC or by post. Entitlement to obtain a copy and any fee depend on the applicant and purpose; the official instructions explain the options.
- Check whether a short-form or full copy is required.
- Confirm whether the recipient accepts an electronic document.
- Keep a record of where each original is sent.
Check requirements before using it abroad
Ask the receiving authority before paying for legalisation or translation. Covered death documents presented to public authorities in another EU country do not require an apostille under EU public-document rules. A multilingual standard form may help with translation, but must accompany the document.
Other countries and private organisations may have different requirements. Tell the adviser where the certificate will be used and by whom.
Let’s talk about how we can help.
You do not need to have everything decided. We can work through the next step together.